A few hours before Republicans cheered Trump at the GOP convention in Cleveland, dozens of Democrats crammed into a Pleasant Ridge locale to celebrate Hillary Clinton and trash Trump.

"I think the fact that Republicans are running away from him or refusing to be associated with him, like Gov. (John) Kasich, for example, speaks volumes," said Caleb Faux, who is a high-level Democratic party official in Hamilton County.

Although the polls continue to show Ohio is up for grabs, the Clinton campaign considers its ground game far superior to what they regard as the unorthodox, slapdash style of the Trump organization.

More Clinton volunteers signed up Thursday night, buoyed by the energy and encouragement of Clinton surrogate, former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown.

"You hear it all the time, the most important election," Brown told the crowd. "This is the most important election in my lifetime because we cannot afford to go back. Making America great again is going back to the past."

Democratic state lawmaker Connie Pillich, who served in the Air Force, said she worries a lot about Trump's view of NATO and what his presidency would mean for America's allies.

"He's divisive. He's dangerous. He's a fraud," said Pillich. "And as a veteran, I shudder to think what he would do as commander-in-chief."

The Trump campaign believes it has tapped into a winning anti-establishment formula.

The Clinton campaign is mounting a registration drive to add three million voters to the rolls.

That effort could help sway key states, such as Florida, which has a growing Hispanic population.

Brown encouraged the local crowd to help with that drive.

"We need three million people," he called out. "Are you with us on that?"